Wedding Belle A Dress For Any Case
by CatBru
Summary: Long awaited sequel okay, not really about a bridesmaid dress that eats people. Well, in Hattori's mind, at least. There's sorta-girl-crushes, cross-dressing, heels of doom, and an American stalker because, lets face it, we Americans are kinda crazy
1. When Girls Are Away, Boys Will Play

**Part One – When Girls Are Away, Boys Will Play Dress Up**

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It's been a little over a year since I posted Wedding Belle, and normally someone would think to themselves 'meh, its been a year. Who needs a sequel?' Well, apparently I'm not exactly normal. That, and **Saitaina R. Moricia** had left a comment that had sent me in fits of giggles ever since. So, one night while my internet and cable was gone (a torturous couple of weeks that was saved by college classes) I started writing. This still isn't finished, and there's some things I need to brush up in the next part, but its almost done. Will probably only be two or three parts, but hey, I have one of them plot things! ...Sort of!

Not sure if this is technically humorous, but hopefully some of its funny, at least. Muahaha.

Sadly, this wasn't written at Wafflehouse. I really need to get my car fixed so I can go there at 3am again...

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them, I just play. If I did own them, there'd be more of certain characters (two of whom are in this story) and the English dubs and manga would use the original names. Muahaha.

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The young man gulped as he stared down the billowing monstrosity on the bed before him. It threatened to swallow him whole, devour him until nothing remained. Should that happen, would anyone realize that he was gone? Would a search party come, too late in discovering a body that had been rendered unrecognizable from the hungry, gaping maw that tore him to shreds?

Heiji had none of these answers. He wasn't sure he would want them anyway. There were some things a man just didn't do. This should be one of them, even for a case.

But the trap was set. His interest was piqued. At least he wouldn't be alone in this embarrassing nightmare. And thankfully, Kazuha had sprained her ankle, so there was no way she could participate. He really hated the thought of her seeing him like this. There were some things a subordinate should not see.

Flicking a soft, bouncing curl behind his ear, he picked up the object of his fear, bringing it closer, wondering just how he was supposed to get it on. Or, better yet, how he was going to pull this off.

_Just think of the case, Hattori. Concentrate on the facts. Find the culprit._

Right. He could do this. He wouldn't be the first man in history to do this, nor would he be the last.

Taking a deep breath, he pulled the yards of fabric over his head. It settled around his feet like a tiger slowly stalking its prey.

His reflection in the full-length mirror mocked him with the perverse image of a woman-Heiji. This woman-Heiji, one that had no right to exist, had long soft hair swept up in waves and curls and pins. And the hairspray, oh how his lungs loathed that stuff! Worse yet was the make-up, the necessary evil to complete his guise.

The dress hung loosely, only because he was unable to zip himself up. Fortunately, the woman he was replacing had few curves, so the minimal padding sewn into the fabric at the last minute would suffice. Unfortunately, though, the woman was a few inches taller than he was, which was not really something he ran across very often, so while her shoes would have been flat, he'd had to learn to walk in heels. More than once he'd kicked the offending footwear under his bed when his mother had come knocking, concerned with the sounds of her only child crashing to the floor.

A giggling sound erupted through the stillness of the room. For a moment, he feared the worst, briefly imagining the terrifying image before him spread across Japan on the cover of newspapers and magazines, before he caught a glimpse of the assailant.

"Hey, you're one to laugh," he grumbled, glaring at the pretty little girl with blonde curls reflected near the bottom of the mirror. "At least I don't look like Shirley Temple."

The giggling cherubic face seemed to blur for a second, replaced by the serious countenance of a shrunken Kudo. Sometimes it freaked Heiji out just how quickly the young boy switched personas. If his greatest rival and best friend – well, best male friend, anyway – hadn't decided years ago to follow in his father's footsteps in the world of mystery, there was no doubt in Heiji's mind that the boy would have made a terrific thespian. Of course, considering who his mother was, it wasn't a large surprise.

"You ready, Hattori? We're due in fifteen minutes." The boy's deepened childish voice did not suit the ringlets of curls bouncing around his face, or the bright pink miniature version of what Heiji was wrestling with.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." With a sigh, Heiji resigned himself to his cruel fate. The things he did for his job. "Just… help me out with this zipper, would you?"

As small hands captured him firmly in the tight confines of his gown, transforming him almost completely from boy to woman, Heiji was once again thankful that his childhood friend was not here to see this.

-

"It's such a shame Hinamori-san came down with laryngitis! Of all the days, today would be the day." Kaede pouted as she finished adding one last curl to the bride's coif.

"I know, first Kazuha-chan sprains her ankle, and now this." Kyoko sulked briefly, pouting her lips at her reflection.

"It couldn't be helped! That moron purposefully tripped me in the last round, and then 'accidentally' stepped on my foot!" Kazuha grouched at her cousin from her chair, where her foot was raised at the insistence of the mothering Ran.

"Oh, Kazuha-chan, I didn't mean it like that," Kyoko quickly assured, surrounded by white fabric and lace. "You didn't even have to come, yet here you are!"

The Osaka girl continued to grouse in her seat, flicking lint from her skirt.

"Kazuha-chan's not still mad at Hattori-kun, is she?" Ran whispered to her friend.

"Ha! As if! That moron gets all excited by a case, forgetting our date, leaving me to come here by myself! Why would I be mad about that?! Ha! He could rot on that case, for all I care! In fact, he could keep going on those darn things until he dies!" Forgetting her current situation, and getting worked up in her ire, Kazuha ended her rant by kicking over the chair and leaping to her feet. She stood there for a good several seconds, breathing hard with her fist clenched.

"Oh dear," Ran murmured as she picked the chair up. By this time, Kazuha's pain sensors kicked in, leaving her pale and twitching. "You shouldn't let him get you so worked up," she gently scolded as she helped the now hobbling girl back into her seat.

"I hate him," Kazuha whimpered, more from the pain in her ankle than anything else.

"I know you don't," Ran soothed as she pulled Kazuha's painkiller prescription out. "Here you go. It's about time for them, anyway."

"Yes I do," Kazuha insisted stubbornly, gulping down the pills and water. "He's an idiot. A moron. A dumbass. And a nerd."

Ran giggled, smiling brightly. "But it's also those things you hate about him that make you like him so much."

Kazuha sighed. Enough of this topic. If they continued on it, she would be tricked by Ran's sweet-girl ways into forgiving her moron of a best friend. "Say, Kyoko-san, is that why Hinamori-san's not here? Is she out of the wedding?"

"Oh, no, she's still here. She says it's not contagious, but she's getting dressed in the other room to be careful." Kyoko giggled as she put in her last pearl earring. "She's always been overly cautious, ever since middle school. She'd stay home if she had so much as a sniffle, not wanting the other kids to get sick. Got to where the teachers would call her parents and complain."

"Goodness!"

"It's nothing to worry about, Ran-san. It's just one of her quirks. That, and her tomboyish ways growing up, made for a few of the reasons she was my best friend." Kyoko laughed, fastening the matching pearl necklace around her neck. "To this day, it's amusing to watch her walk in heels! Not to mention, she's such a tall lady, that she towers over everyone when she does!"

Kaede stuck her tongue out at Kyoko's reflection, placing one last bobby-pin in her hair. "Now, now, it almost sounds like you're poking fun! These two will think you don't really like Hina-chan."

Kyoko laughed again. "The truth is that I really do love her. She was like a sister growing up. I'd do anything for her, really."

Kaede clicked her tongue reprovingly as Kyoko stood up, pinning the veil in place. "You two do fight as though you were sisters. That time in high school? I thought for sure you two would feud until the school exploded from the tension."

"I had good reason to be mad at her! She stole my favorite book! But then, I suppose I did take her CD home that one time…"

"But then she went on the exchange program, and oh, how you were miserable!"

Kyoko sniffed haughtily. "Darn right, I was! She gets to go to America, and they sent that dull Michelle girl in her place. All that girl did was complain about how we Japanese drive on the wrong side of the road, how the food was weird and can't we have pizza. Unbearable!" The young bride-to-be sighed fondly then. "Yes, even if I get so mad at her that I think I hate her, I really would do anything for her. She's such a hopeless girl at times, I can't help but worry. I'm sure Kazuha-chan feels the same for the friend she claims to hate, right?"

Kaede laughed. "True, true. After all, not many friends would proclaim loud and clear in a bridal shop full of strangers that he would protect his friend from lecherous men."

"Hmph. Heiji's an overprotective idiot," Kazuha protested with a faint blush, much less irritation than before. It was true, no matter how much that moron irritated her at time, he was still hopeless sometimes. It was her job to make sure he kept himself safe.

One of her biggest frustrations over the whole thing was that she couldn't be there to make sure he took care of himself. What if he forgot to eat? Or sleep? He could get so wrapped up in a case that he would lose all track of time, concentrating only on solving the mystery. Once, he came by when she was too sick to get out of bed, his face flush with the excitement of doing what he did best. After he'd told her in great detail about what had happened, all the while eating bowl after bowl of rice, he'd promptly fell asleep on her shoulder.

She shouldn't worry. Really, she shouldn't. So what if he worked himself exhausted? So what if bodies literally rained down on him? So what if he rushed headlong into things, not caring about his own safety, going after hardened criminals and murderers with no thought about what they would do, and possibly be even better with swords and-

Oh no, what if he was lying in a ditch somewhere, bleeding?!

"Oh my, I think she may explode…" her cousin's words were lost to her as she quickly pulled out her cell phone and pressed speed-dial.

The idiot! The moron! If he's gotten himself murdered, she was going to kill him!

"_What do you _want,_ you annoying girl?"_ Heiji's whispered voice filled her with relief before she registered what he had said.

"Annoying?! Ha! I was just calling to make sure you remembered to eat this time, you idiot!" Kazuha sighed into the receiver shaking her head. "You're the annoying one, not even able to take care of yourself!"

"_I would if you'd quit nagging, moron!"_

"You dumbass! If you go and get yourself hurt, I'll never forgive you!"

"Kazuha-chan, it's okay," Ran said, fretting beside her. "Hattori-kun'll be just fine."

"_That's right, listen to Nee-chan! I'll be just- N-Nee-chan's there?! Where are you, Kazuha?"_

"My cousin is getting married, stupid. You think I'd let a sprain and a flakey friend keep me from going? Fortunately, Ran-chan's a sweet girl who willingly gave up her Sunday to come with me."

There was the sound of shuffling and a child's surprised exclamation on the other end. A few choice curses later Heiji came back on the line. _"I have to go now, looks like we may get a break in the case shortly, so I'll see you soon! And stop worrying so much, you'll give yourself ulcers. Bye, then!"_

"Heiji!" It was no use. The line went dead.

With a long sigh, Kazuha wearily leaned her head to one side. "He's right. He's going to drive me to ulcers."

_I wonder why he was so concerned with Ran-chan being here._ Pressing end on her own phone, she shoved the annoying thing into her purse. Looking up, she realized that everyone in the room was looking at her, expressions ranging from confused to amused.

Cheeks burning, she cursed Heiji again for embarrassing her without even being in the same room, or even the same building.

"Um… well… it's about to start, so… Ran-chan, lets go to our seats, okay?" Grabbing her friend's arm, she tried a combination of pulling and hobbling, one that did not quite succeed. She would have fallen on her face had the other girl not been focused on keeping Kazuha balanced. "Good luck, Kyoko-san!"

"Kazuha-chan," Ran scolded when they were outside the room. The Tokyo girl had a way of berating someone just by saying their name, making them feel about two inches tall. No wonder Conan was usually so well behaved.

"I know, I'm sorry. It's just… Gah! That boy just makes me so worried when he's not around, and so annoyed when he is! I don't know if I want to strangle the life out of him, or lock him in his closet for his own good!"

"They have a way of doing that, don't they?" Even though she was laughing, Kazuha still detected that faint hint of sadness that sometimes crept in her voice whenever Ran was thinking about the ever absent Kudo.

"Ran-chan, I-"

"Quick, let's find our seats! I don't want them closing the doors and locking us out!"

Sighing, Kazuha hobbled after Ran who, despite her urgings, led the injured girl slowly toward the pews. As they sat, Kazuha only allowed herself one last brief thought toward her wayward friend, wondering if he was indeed alright.

-

Currently, Heiji was _not_ alright. He was too busy fretting over the fact that his moronic friend had actually come all the way to Tokyo, injured no less, for the wedding. She was supposed to be comfortable and at home, foot elevated and iced, surrounded by the mountains of pillows and blankets and manga he had left her in two days ago, damn it! Not hobbling around a large city and probably even making her injury worse! That girl had no common sense. If he wasn't around to watch her when she hurt herself, she'd probably try to run a marathon with a stab wound!

Forget _him_ driving _her_ to ulcers. As far as he was concerned, it was the other way around.

"Hey, Hattori, you'll ruin your make-up if you keep making that face."

"I'll ruin _your_ make-up if you keep reminding me I'm wearing it, Kudo," he grumbled back. In truth, it was probably a good thing that Kazuha had called. Now he knew to be on his guard, to avoid her if possible. But now that he knew, his attention would be divided. Keep her from finding out he was there, dressed as he was, and also trying to focus on the problem at hand. "Why did she even come?"

"Because she's Kazuha-neechan," Kudo replied in an eerie imitation of a young girl's voice, even without his voice changing bow-tie. While the physically young six-year-old could easily fool people into believing he was not a boy with his underdeveloped vocal chords, Heiji had to pretend he had laryngitis. He forgot how much he talked until he had to forcibly remember that he couldn't.

"Hina, its Kyoko! I'm coming in," Kazuha's cousin called through the door in a singsong voice. When she peeked in and saw that the two boys were ready and fully dressed, she hurried inside. "I'm sorry, Hattori-kun. I didn't think she would come after she told me she'd sprained her ankle."

Heiji scowled. "That moron is so stubborn; she'd have come even if she were bedridden with the plague."

Kyoko rolled her eyes and fluttered over to the both of them, fixing small errors that neither of them had caught. "I swear, you two."

"What? What us two?" Kudo asked.

"No, Kazuha-chan and this one, here," she corrected him, poking Heiji in the shoulder. "You're both so worried about the other that it's driving you into fits."

Heiji felt his cheeks burn. "T-that's not it at all! She just refuses to take care of herself!"

Kyoko merely smiled with a shake of her head and a roll of her eyes. Then her mirth vanished, and her eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Hina called from the hotel. The same man keeps calling her cell, leaving those horrid messages."

"Any idea yet who it is?" Heiji asked, all business now that he could focus on something else.

Kyoko shook her head. "No… Only that they're still all in English."

Nodding, he leaned against the wall, deep in thought. It had been because Kazuha'd mentioned to Kyoko that he spoke English quite well (actually, it was more along the lines of 'That idiot snoozes during English every day and still gets the highest grades in class!') that finally led the fretful bride-to-be to calling his cell, begging for his help. Apparently, Hinamori had been getting threatening phone calls for months now. There was no way to trace the caller, since it was always done by payphone, and always by coin, and not phone cards. What finally drove the bridesmaid to going to her friend for help was when the caller began to threaten her young niece as well. Neither knowing what to do, they turned to Heiji. It had actually been Kudo's idea to replace both at the wedding, since that was when the stalker said he would strike, and also since Hinamori resembled Heiji just enough to pass it off. Since it had been a few years since most of the guests had seen the tall woman, no one except those in the know would realize that he wasn't really Hinamori.

The only lead they had was that the caller was fluent in English. There wasn't a trace of a Japanese accent in his voice.

"This would be so much easier if I could actually question people," he complained out loud.

There was a loud knock at the door followed by Kaede's voice. "Kyoko-chan! Hinamori-san! Sheesh, the wedding's going to start soon!"

"Well, best of luck, you two!" Kyoko waved and hurried out the door.

When it was just the two of them, Heiji stared at the closed door. "Do we really have to go out there? Dressed like this?"

"Yup."

"I hate you." Picking up his bouquet, and handing the basket of rose-petals to the young boy-girl before him, he sighed like a man on his way to an execution. "If the Best Man tries to grope me on the way down the isle, I'm going to sic this dress on him."

-

"Aw, Kazuha-chan, the flower girl is just too precious!"

Kazuha watched as the young girl threw petals onto the carpet. It seemed as though the child had heard Ran's comment, because her next step faltered and her small cheeks flushed scarlet when she looked over at them.

"You embarrassed her, Ran," Kazuha pointed out, then soundlessly squealed. "Wasn't it so cute?"

Even though they both were whispering quietly in their seats near the back of the church, which was more to do with Kazuha's ankle than anything else, an irritated woman turned around and glared them both down. Slinking down as far as they could in the hard pews, the two girls obediently ceased their talking. It was then that Kyoko started her walk down the isle, and as the all stood, Kazuha tried to focus on her cousin. For some reason though, her concentration kept returning to the Maid of Honor. She's only met Hinamori once, years ago, when she and Heiji had gone to Kyoto, so she wasn't really sure if the nagging sensation in her gut that something was off was right or not. True, she had the same boyish build that Kazuha remembered and that Kyoko claimed she'd kept through adolescence into adulthood, but there was just something… not quite right.

Also, she wasn't sure if it was the gentle slope of the nose, or the angle of the jaw line, or the shape of the ears, but something about this woman was as familiar to her as her own face. Probably even more so. She just couldn't put her finger on why that was.

As though sensing her gaze, the woman suddenly glanced in her direction. Hinamori's eyes widened slightly as a faint blush spread across her cheeks. For some reason, this caused her own to heat up, and even the tips of her ears felt warm. It reminded her of when she had first seen the Maid of Honor. There had been a faint flutter of something in her chest when the woman had swept down the isle, arm in arm with the Best Man. Even when the older woman nearly tripped, awkward on her high heels, Kazuha hadn't found it amusing. More so, she'd found it… endearing.

Oh no.

No, no, no, no, _no!_

Without her wanting it to, time seemed to stand still, and no matter how hard she tried, Kazuha could not break her eyes away from the woman up front. She prayed her eyes betrayed nothing, but she reached over and gripped Ran's hand so tightly that she was surprised the other girl didn't cry out in pain and shock.

_This isn't happening…_

And then… in one terrible, beautiful moment, the woman smiled. It was a small, almost sad curve of the lips, but it sent warmth through Kazuha down to her toes. Shyly, she gave a tentative grin back, and Kazuha knew then that she was doomed. For some reason, she wanted to cry. And for some other reason, she wanted to call Heiji right then and beg his forgiveness, but she wasn't sure what for. After all, she didn't feel _this _way for him.

Thankfully, the bridal march ended, and they were allowed to sit down. Hinamori jerked her eyes to the bride and groom, breaking the terrifying spell she'd cast.

Kazuha was shaking by the time she was seated again, and as much as she wished she could blame it on the throbbing of her ankle, she knew it wasn't.

Ran's hand squeezed her own gently, giving her a questioning glance. Kazuha shook her head with a tiny smile, mouthing she'd tell her later.

They say weddings cause tears, but Kazuha's eyes weren't damp by the end because of the ceremony.

-

"Ah, she knows, she knows, damn it, she knows," Heiji groaned as he banged his head against the wall. They were back in the room they had changed in, Kudo and him both, preparing for the reception. All he wanted to do, though, was go home, crawl under his blanket, claim to be sick for the next week, and have his mom fret about him in her suffocating, endearing motherly way.

"She doesn't know," Kudo chided him, readjusting his wig and pulling up one of his lace socks. His black Mary Jane loafers had a smudge, and he spent the next few seconds polishing it away. "If she knew, she would have marched up and yelled at you in front of the entire ceremony."

"No, she knows. You didn't see that face she made. It's like I kicked her puppy and ran over her doll while pulling her hair. Worse! Gah, she knows, and now she hates me for lying!" He collapsed in the chair, the itchy skirt fluffing out with a sigh of irritation at his abuse. "Go ahead, dress, and devour me! End my misery!"

"You're such a drama queen." Finally satisfied that the smudge was once again shiny, the young boy-girl stood up, curls bouncing, and smiled brightly. "Come on, Oba-san! They're gonna leave us!"

Heiji glowered at his friend. "You're eerily good at that voice." He threw his head back, annoyed when he didn't crack his skull open on the wall but instead missed it by several inches. "Go on without me. Let me wallow in peace."

"I could always call as Shinichi and claim that I'm oh so worried because you're not taking proper care of yourself on the case," Kudo threatened. "That would throw off her suspicion, and get her yelling at you again."

Kazuha's yelling. How he missed it already. "You wouldn't. Since she already knows, or if on the off chance she _doesn't_ know and finds out later on, you'll have to explain to both her _and_ Nee-chan why you were here at the wedding and didn't ask her to dance."

The young boy faltered for only a moment before pulling out the phone, hand poised over the call button. "You're so pathetic right now that it's a risk I'm willing to take."

"Fine!" Heiji shot up from the chair and grabbed Kudo's phone, stuffing it in his purse. "Fine, fine, fine. You win. Twerp."

Heiji stormed over to the door, threw it open, and nearly ran Kazuha and Nee-chan down. He froze. His heart stopped, his body became motionless, his lungs ceased breathing, froze.

"Oh! Sorry, we were looking for the coat closet, but got lost," Nee-chan explained with a laugh. Kazuha kept her eyes glued to the carpet where they stared, large and unseeing.

Heiji opened his mouth to speak, before remembering, barely in time, that he had laryngitis. Kudo skipped over to them, recovering from his shock quicker than any of them.

"You were close, Onee-chan! It's two doors down on the right."

"Thank you," Nee-chan said, before crouching down onto a knee. "Oh, you were the flower girl! You were simply wonderful. And so cute, too! Wasn't she, Kazuha-chan?"

"Mm-hmm," Kazuha replied shortly, not daring to look up.

True to his mother's lineage, Kudo put on the act of a lifetime, perfectly affecting a young girl being praised. Hands clasped behind his back, he tilted his head down and rotated in a way that had his blonde curls swinging. "Thank you, Onee-chan."

Nee-chan, obviously clueless to their identities, predictably melted.

"R-Nee-chan, we're going to be late," Kazuha spoke up for the first time, an unnatural timid voice squeaking out.

"Right, sorry," Nee-chan stood up, smiling at Kudo. "Save me a dance!"

Kudo nodded, all smiles. When the door shut, he still had that same goofy expression on his face.

"You're hopeless," Heiji pointed out.

"You're one to talk." Picking up his own small child's purse, he gave Heiji a knowing grin. "And Kazuha doesn't know it's you."

"What? Are you blind?! You saw the way she acted!"

"I did. But it wasn't because she knew."

"Oh yeah?! Then why?"

Still grinning, a smug look Heiji would love to wipe off, Kudo skipped for the door. "You heard Kazuha-neechan! We're gonna be late!"

-end Part One

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Bum bum bum! Kazuha has a girl crush! Kinda! Not really! Heiji think's Kazuha's on to him! But she's not! Kinda! Not really! And Conan looks like Shirley Temple! Kinda! Not really!

For seriously, anyone ever notice how Heiji _never_ calls Ran by her name? He always refers to her as Nee-chan or That Guy's Daughter. Of course, I could be hallucinating on that. Oh wells :D

I'll try to get the next part(s?) finished soon, but right now I'm in school, which eats my brain. But this should be a nice diversion for my brain.


	2. Aching Feet and Liquid Courage

**Chapter Two: Aching Feet and Liquid Courage**

So, I realized that the last chapter was ZOMG long. So, after tweaking a bit, I decided that this would be a nice length to end this one at, so that your poor abused eyeballs wouldn't thunk out of their sockets from sheer exhaustion. It's not _too_ short, though. I don't think? Am I making too much fuss over chapter lengths? Ahhh!

In this chapter, aside from filler as I try to finish the rest of it up (which, this will be more like three or four parts long instead of the original two… ewps.) there's not a lot that goes on, truthfully. Introspection, aching feet, and a stereotypical bar scene! Woot! And, if you squint hard enough, some of the actual plot is here, too. I promise. Maybe. Kinda?

**Disclaimer:** If I owned them, I'd be getting money. I don't, I'm not, and I'm broke. Grumble.

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"Kazuha-chan, what's wrong? You've been acting weird since the ceremony." From anyone else, those words would have been filled with irritation. Coming from Ran, there was nothing but concern.

"That… that girl, Ran. There's something about her, and…" Kazuha quickly eyed the driver before leaning over and whispering in Ran's ear. "Our eyes met. Before the wedding. And… there was something there!"

"Something there?" Obviously, Kazuha was not making herself clear.

She nodded emphatically, and continued to whisper, feeling embarrassment flood through her. She had to tell someone, though, and this was something that Heiji could never know about.

When Kazuha was done, Ran just stared at her for several long seconds. Any minute now, Kazuha expected her friend to begin acting weird. She didn't, though, and said something that Kazuha was not expecting. "But I thought… what about Hattori-kun?"

Tears welled up in her eyes. "This has nothing to do with that… that… _jackass!_"

She wasn't sure who was more surprised by her loud outburst, her or Ran, or even the driver, but either way she felt two inches tall.

"Oh, Kazuha-chan, I'm sorry." Ran was really too sweet of a girl. Instead of yelling at her for losing her temper, Ran just pulled Kazuha in for a friendly hug. "It's okay. It could just be a girl crush, or not. Why not ask her to dance at the reception?"

The mere thought sent both thrills and chills through her veins, and her legs buzzed in that hollow feeling one has when fighting back an adrenaline rush.

Should she? Shouldn't she? One innocent dance wouldn't hurt, would it? But what if it did? What if it wasn't just a silly girl crush? Then there was her ankle to consider. What if, while dancing with Hinamori, she hobbled around like an oaf, and then fell flat on her face when the song ended? The humiliation would be too great! Oh, sure, the whole girl crush thing wouldn't be an issue then, because once Hinamori saw _that,_ there was little doubt in Kazuha's mind that the older woman would either act all sympathetic and caring, or laugh herself right out of laryngitis. Neither of which appealed to Kazuha's sense of dignity. There was no way she could dance with the Maid of Honor, no way at all!

"Okay," she found herself saying, instead, and cursed herself for a fool. She stayed curled against Ran's side the rest of the ride, more confused than she remembered ever being.

-

"Ow, ow, ow," Heiji complained quietly as he slumped in the chair next to Kudo's. The reception had only started fifteen minutes ago, and already his feet were killing him. He would love more than anything to take them off for two blessed minutes, but they were part of the disguise. "How do women stand these things, anyway?"

"I wouldn't know," Kudo said as he kicked his own feet back and forth in his seat, his darn flat shoes taunting Heiji with their promise of comfort and salvation.

"I've mentioned that this was your idea, right? And that I'll kill you for it, right?"

"Save my murder case until after we catch this stalker." Kudo cast his keen eyes across the dance floor. "Do you get that feeling from any of them?"

"Just hunches. But two are more suspicious than the others." He never realized how often the Maid of Honor was asked to dance, especially when she came dateless. The Best Man seemed intent on stalking him like a lioness stalking a zebra in the savannah desert. Then there was the one that had that way of speaking that was just slightly off. "But I swear, the next person that asks me to dance will get my shoe in their skull."

Kudo chuckled. "I'll bet you don't. And also, time to go back to acting. Here she comes again."

Suddenly tense, Heiji sat up straighter, and looked around. He caught Kazuha's eye as she was nearing closer, and for a second he thought she was going to continue over to them. Instead, she turned in the opposite direction and scuttled off. Instantly drained, he slumped in his chair. "If she wants to come murder me, I don't see why she's dragging it out so long."

"Fool. I told you, she has no clue who you are."

"You keep saying that…"

"Ah, Hinamori! There you are." The second suspicious person on the list came up then, smiling broadly. He held out his hand. "A lovely lady such as yourself should not be left out of a dance."

Heiji glared at Kudo, who pretended to sneeze to cover a sudden fit of giggles, and accepted the man's hand. His feet wept as he was led once more to the dance floor.

-

Ran sighed at her glass when she took a sip, sighed at her hors d'oeuvres when she nibbled on it, and sympathized with the flower that had been smooshed by the knife on her piece of wedding cake. Before she could stop herself, she turned to see if Conan was having any trouble with food when she realized that her young charge was currently visiting his parents.

She'd been more than happy to accept Kazuha's invitation to join her to the wedding. Ran hadn't realized until after he'd left for the weekend just how used to taking care of Conan she was. With Sonoko out of town as well, Ran had found herself suddenly and inexplicably bored. Was it because she had come to be so accustomed to taking care of the young boy? Before he came, she had never really found herself without something to do. Even on the rare chance she'd had, Shinichi would always come over and pester her right out of boredom, whether she wanted it or not.

Of course, Shinichi hadn't been around for a good long while. Sometimes, she was afraid she was beginning to forget exactly _why_ she liked him, though she could never forget that she did. Not that she wanted to, mind, it was more that sometimes she wished he was around more so that she could strangle him for _not_ being around. Although, if she were honest with herself, she'd just too happy he was actually there and not disappearing. Happy feelings tended to get in the way of butt whooping.

Then Conan would invariably pop up, chasing away her daydreams of inflicting bodily harm on her wayward detective. The small boy was good at that. Sometimes, she let herself pretend that Conan, as smart as he was, intentionally instigated schemes that would make her direct her attention on him, and the present, instead of Shinichi, and the past and would-be future. Ran was aware that this was wishful thinking. No matter how precocious a child was he was, Conan was _still_ just a child.

Suddenly quite annoyed at her voyage on a self-pity cruise, Ran set her glass back on the table with enough force to cause the ice to clink their protests. She didn't need Conan _or_ Shinichi around to entertain herself! She was at a wedding, for goodness sake! The bride was gorgeous, the groom handsome, the Flower Girl cute as a button, and the Maid of Honor was a girl that Kazuha had a crush on! How could one possibly be bored here? Not that she planned on finding amusement in her poor friend's predicament, of course. While Ran could see where it could be found, in areas of ironies and such, she could also see how confused the young Osaka girl was. So was Ran, for that matter. All of the evidence that she had witnessed in their short yes adventurous friendship, Ran would have bet all the yen in her savings (meager though it was) that Kazuha held a secret torch for her own detective. True, the fact that the current object of Kazuha's fascination was a girl gave Ran pause, but not nearly as much as that first question that had popped in her mind and hadn't left since. _What about Hattori-kun?_

If Ran allowed her mind to run away at that moment, she would have worried about the parallels drawn between herself and Kazuha. She had Shinichi, Kazuha had Hattori. She liked Shinichi (well, er, at least she did a little, maybe, possibly…); Kazuha (from what she could tell) liked Hattori. If Kazuha suddenly liked someone else, then what would that say about herself and Shinichi? Could she just as easily be swayed from her childhood friend?

It was a good thing Ran didn't allow her mind to travel down this twisting path of thought. It was confusing, opened too many things she'd rather leave buried, and was also, she felt, a bit selfish.

Stealing a glance toward the head table, where Hinamori and the young flower girl had set themselves up for the evening, Ran tried to get her mind off of one subject and onto another. She would leave behind any thought of her missing detective friend and concentrate on Kazuha's little problem, instead. At that moment, Hinamori was dancing with the same man Ran had seen her with before. Unlike the other happily dancing couples, the Maid of Honor didn't look exactly please with who she was partnered with. That was something, at least. Apparently, the other woman wasn't here with that man, if the uncomfortable glances she kept sending the flower girl was any indication. Another person enamored by the Maid of Honor?

The dance finally ended, leaving Hinamori to scurry back to her seat. Ran was confused by the glare she shot the young flower girl, who was smiling and making some comment. It reminded her of Hattori and Conan, the way they just oddly fit together.

Gah! Her mind was seeing Conan in places he wasn't! Okay, Ran. Focus!

Now that she looked at the scene, though, there was something… both off and familiar with the way the two were sitting, Hinamori in particular. The way she leaned in her chair, elbow propped on the table, even the bored expression on her face reminded her of someone that she couldn't quite put her finger on. She ran through a list of girls she knew in her mind, but none of them quite fit with what she was looking at now.

Shaking her head to clear away confusing thoughts, she took a bite of her slowly diminishing cake. The flower girl was grinning widely at something she told to the woman beside her, looking just too adorable for her own good.

That's it! Didn't she get a promise for a dance from the little girl? Well, now was the perfect time to make good on her word. With Kazuha over at the bar, having decided to gather her courage through fizzy soda before asking Hinamori to dance, Ran figured she wouldn't be missed by the strangers chatting amongst themselves at her table.

-

Kazuha wallowed at the bar, drowning her sorrows, drink after drink.

Slamming her empty cup on the counter, she said two of the only words of English she could say without completely butchering the odd language, according to Heiji. Moron. Fool. Idiot. Jackass.

"Hit me."

Of course, she only really ever said this when she and that loser were inside and bored on rainy days, trying to play card games without knowing all the rules. Black Jack seemed to be the only game she could play against Heiji and win. Sometimes.

"I think you've reached your limit, miss."

She glared at the bartender, an American who knew enough Japanese to get by. "One, its soda. Bee, I'll let you know when I'm done. So hit me."

Robert, or Bobby as he preferred to be called, chuckled as he prepared another drink. "Sorry, sorry. Just going with the flow of things." He poured the drink and set it before her, throwing in a couple cherries in an attempt to get her to smile. It worked slightly, for Kazuha managed what felt like something that resembled a smile. Somewhat. "Troubles with love?"

"Ha!" She barked out as she pulled a cherry from her drink, worrying the stem with her teeth. "More like trouble loves me."

"Well, if you ask me, go after what you want. Don't worry about the consequences, or how you get it done. Just get it done."

Regarding him for a moment, Kazuha silently cursed as the stem broke in her mouth. She wasn't sure why she was trying this, except that boredom led her to do things she normally wouldn't. Such as playing Black Jack with Heiji. The jackass. She completely blamed him for her current situation. If he had just _come_ with her, as he had promised, she would be busy arguing with him and trying to get him to sit still. Instead, here she was, a throbbing ankle and a woman she was determined to ask to dance at some point in the evening, and a small pile of broken cherry stems. "I think this is a time when its better I just wait. Wait, wait, wait."

Bobby just shook his head and continued to wipe a clean glass with a dish towel. When she'd asked why he kept drying the same glass, shortly after sitting on the stool she'd been sitting on for most of the reception, he had simply told her that it's what was expected of a bartender.

After filling a stronger drink for someone who was of age, Bobby came back over, continuing to clean unseen spots from the same glass. "So tell me, why are you sitting here, all alone?"

Kazuha threw the mangled stem on the napkin, wondering why, in every show she watched, the bartender always seemed to be designated the unofficial psychiatrist. Problems with love? Money? Work? Inability to house train the new puppy? Lay them all out to the man behind the counter! She supposed it would be easier to do if she were like the others sitting around her, old enough for something with a kick, but then she'd seen enough drunkenness in her life to know that even if she were at that age, she'd more than likely be sitting here ordering the exact same thing. "I'm not alone, I came with a friend," she finally admitted.

"Oh? And he's decided to leave you to fend for yourself, has he?"

This earned him a sharp glare. "_She's_ sitting at a table over there, letting me have some space." Then, realizing how harsh she sounded, and the implications she'd just made, Kazuha sighed. "My friend was supposed to come with me, but had something to do at the last minute. She came with me in his place." Glancing over her shoulder at where their table was, she wondered where Ran had gotten herself off too. Had someone asked the pretty Tokyo girl to dance? Would serve the idiot Kudo right, if a dashing man breezed in and swept the girl off her feet. Idiot detectives, the lot of them. Then she saw that Ran _was_ dancing, but with the flower girl. Blonde curls flying, cute little dress twirling; the flower girl seemed to be enjoying herself even as she was blushing. Of course, this caused her eye to wander to Hinamori, who was watching the display a great deal of amusement. Even in dressed in the garish dress her cousin had chosen for her bridal party, the sight caused her heart to skip a beat. Quickly, on the off chance that she would get caught staring, Kazuha whipped her head back to the bar. Part of her hoped that she _had_ been able to be a bride's maid, and that Heiji's (the moron) fear of people-eating taffeta were true. Then, at least, she could be put out of her misery.

Bobby winced sympathetically. "Ouch, harsh."

"Its not like I'm not used to it," she defended herself, mind immediately falling back to Heiji. "He's always running off, not caring if he gets hurt. And who has to sit and fret over him? Me. Who's the one that has to practically force him to take her along just so she makes sure he doesn't get himself killed when she can? Me. Who gets stood up at practically the last minute to a fancy event just so he can gallivant across the country, not being able to see that look on his face when he figures everything out at the end? That's right. Me."

"Trust me when I say that young men are foolish, and don't always appreciate what they have when they do. Only when their girlfriends are gone do they realize just what they took for granted."

Unfortunately for Kazuha, she had chosen that moment to take a long sip of her drink. "What? He's not- I mean, we're- I'm not-" By this point, her nose was burning from when she'd all but choked on her soda. "_He's not my boyfriend!_" Why did people keep assuming he was?

"Hey, I'm just saying," Bobby said, holding his hands up casually. "And since you're not attached to your absent friend, why not go out and find someone nice to dance with? Plenty of people here, you know."

"I thought about that," she admitted with a grumble. She then used the excuse she'd been making for herself all night. "But, if you haven't noticed, my foot isn't exactly ideal for twirling around the ballroom."

Scoffing, the bartender set down the glass that was at that point so clean a drill sergeant would approve. "Right. You're a cute enough girl that no one would let that stand in their way. And I'd bet they'd let you stand on their feet, to boot."

Cheeks flushing scarlet, Kazuha stammered out a few incoherent words, causing Bobby to laugh. "Don't worry, just stating an observation. You're a bit too young for me, and I already have my eyes on someone else." _Americans,_ was the only thought she could process at the moment. He needed to get his eyes checked. "Seriously, go out there and dance. Hobble around a bit until one of them decides to be all chivalrous and whatnot."

That _would _serve Heiji right, she supposed. Kazuha wondered if there was a way she could ask Ran to videotape her dancing with someone, just so she could wave it in that idiot's face, proving she could have a good time without him. Of course, first she needed to get the little thing with Hinamori out of her system, first. After her aborted attempt, a whimsical idea that had entered her mind on the way back from the lady's room, Kazuha had feared that her courage was no where to be found. Now, though, it seemed to flow through her, coursing through her veins like... a very courageous, flowing, and coursing... thing.

"You know, you're right!" She slammed the rest of her drink down her throat, hissing as the carbonation fizzed through her sinuses, and stood up abruptly. The sudden rush of blood to her legs, after having been sitting for so long, caused her to sway slightly, but soon enough the feeling returned. Her ankle, of course, protested the sudden change from horizontal to vertical, but she firmly clamped down her feelings of discomfort. She was a woman on a mission, and nothing as silly as a sprain was about to get in her way!

"Are you sure they didn't put something in the soda?" The question asked by the lady sitting next to her merely tickled the edges of her hearing. Scanning the room with narrow eyes, she spotted her target with the flower girl, who still appeared to be a bit flushed from her recent dance with Ran. The poor woman looked about ready to keel over from exhaustion, and for one brief second she faltered.

No! She would do this. She'll get it over with, prove to herself that it was nothing but a silly girl crush, and go back to arguing with Heiji. As it should be!

Determination straightened her spine as she hobbled slowly across the dance floor, narrowly avoiding crashing into flailing limbs of the song. It was a fast one, so it was safe.

* * *

Will Kazuha finally ask Hinamori to dance? Will Conan's face spontaneously combust after dancing with Ran? Will Heiji's feet fall off and run away in rebellion against the torturous shoes?! _Will his dress finally get hungry enough and devour him where he sat?!_ Okay, so maybe only one of these questions will be answered. Tune in next time as the adventures of the flesh-eating dress continue!


	3. Awkward Dances and Broken Hearts

Oh my goodness! So, I suffered a hard drive failure several months ago. Not that long after posting the second part of this, actually. I was so sure I'd lost this, along with so much more! Of course, I had a certain dramatic tantrum that would make any diva proud. Now, the other stories are pretty much lost, but I turned on my old dinosaur of a laptop, which I haven't touched since getting my new one, and guess what was on there! I had many glees.

This part is _very_ short in comparison to the others. For that, I'm sorry! However, I wanted to get this up to let you know that yes, it hasn't been forgotten! The rest is in need of some major rewrite, though. I reread, and I was all 'o.O' so please bear with me! This time, though, I am not as fettered with school as I was. Still a bit busy, but hopefully won't take as long to update!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own, neener neener.

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"What about the Best Man?" Conan suggested with a halfhearted swivel of his glass, watching the cherry slide over ice cubes.

"Nah, his English is worse than yours." He paid little attention as a wadded up napkin bounced off his head. "What about that other guy that kept asking me to dance?"

"The blonde man? He's German." At Heiji's look, Conan flashed large blue innocent eyes. "I asked him if he was American because his Japanese was weird. It's amazing how much grown-ups talk to kids. Besides, he only knows enough English to order beer and ask where the bathroom is."

Heiji snorted as he down his gingerale. From a distance, it looked enough like champagne to throw off suspicion. Hina was, apparently, slightly more fond of alcohol than the average person. Not enough to be an issue, but if he hadn't made the effort to at least look like he was trying to get a buzz going, there'd be more suspicion than he'd like.

"What about that other guy? The one that you said has octopus hands?"

Just the mention of that slimball made the physically older boy shudder. "Trust me, that..._man_ got so close that there's no way he can't know I'm on the same team. Promise me something, Kudo. You ever see me act like that toward any member of the fairer gender, kick my ass, would you?" Those three dances had been the most disturbing three dances of his life. It had been the one and only time he'd been thankful for wearing his monstrous dress. The layers of poof and flair had offered some protection from some the lecherous pervert's wandering hands, at least.

"Looks like we'll see how you do here in a moment." Conan nodded in the direction of the dance floor. "This time she looks determined."

Heiji didn't have to ask who Kudo meant. He could _feel_ her deathly glare on the back of his itchy wig. "I have an oral will, you're my witness. I leave all my stuff to Nee-chan. Except my Ellery Queen collection. You can have that. You need some decent reading in your young life."

"She's _not_ gonna kill you, Hattori. Trust me on this, would you?"

Anything further was dropped as Kudo's serious expression turned to that of the innocent young girl he was posing as. Heiji counted down the remaining seconds in his life, mourning all the things he would never be able to accomplish after his untimely demise.

...

Before she knew it, she was standing over Hinamori, breathing hard. The flower girl's eyes widened, getting the attention of the Maid of Honor. When the woman turned, she almost looked frightened of the labored breathing beast looming over head.

Kazuha supposed she couldn't blame the woman. She forced herself to calm down, and after a few seconds, she realized exactly where she was, and exactly what she was about to do.

"…Youannadanceithe…?" Her voice and mouth decided not to cooperate, apparently.

Hinamori obviously didn't speak Stupid _or_ Tonguetied. The poor woman, whose voice was all but gone, opened her mouth as though to say something. Kazuha was too busy staring at the floor to read the confused expression that was more than likely on the woman's pretty face.

"I mean… um… Dance. Would you like to? With me. Out there. Where the music is."

There was a pause. It dragged on for an eternity. Universes were born, lived, and died during that long stretch of silence. When she dared to look up, she saw that Hinamori was facing the flower girl, and could see her eyes large with shock.

And then the music, that cursed fast and safe song, switched to a slow melody meant for couples. Feeling as though the universe, maybe one of the ones that died and were now haunting her, was kicking her while she was down, and so, feeling thoroughly rejected, she turned to leave. After all, it was just a silly girl crush.

"Um… sorry. I'll let you go back to… what you were doing."

A hand, slightly larger than she'd expected, caught her wrist before she could take a step. Elation and dread both filled her as Hinamori led her to the dance floor. For a second, it was as though even Hinamori wasn't sure what to do, but then they were dancing.

It was supposed to end with the first step, that stupid girl crush. The rose colored glasses were supposed to be lifted and she should have seen the world as it truly was, but all she felt was the thrill of the dance.

Hinamori led, but Kazuha didn't care. Nor did she care whether it was appropriate or not when she leaned in close, resting her head on the woman's high, boyish shoulder. All she cared about was this feeling of being warm and safe even though it felt as though her very existence was in danger. It wasn't until Hinamori's clothed hand rubbed soothingly across her back that she realized she was trembling. What was _wrong_ with her?

Confused, she closed her eyes against the world, tuned out the music, even the sound of Hinamori's breathing. Even now, this warm cocoon just slightly out of reach of mortal danger was so familiar. The hand holding hers, the one on her back, even gloved they felt familiar. She was dangling above a ravine, the only thing between her and death being a foolish boy's indestructible will for her to survive and a cracking branch. She was in a crooked lawyer's attic, frightened for her life, with a promise to tell her what he was going to say to fill her with the hope that they would survive.

She was in danger, and yet she was the safest she could ever be.

She was with…

The song ended, and Hinamori stilled, bringing Kazuha back from her dream-like trance. Something was there, something she should know, but just like that, it was gone. The crush she felt on Hinamori wasn't a silly thing at all.

It was real.

Kazuha was doomed.

She didn't want to leave this, didn't want to return to the harsh reality that was waiting. Hinamori pulled away first, still holding her hand in soft warmth. Unable to fully look the woman in the eyes, Kazuha just raised her head enough to see that same sad smile she'd seen before the wedding.

_Thank you,_ Hinamori mouthed, still unable to speak, but Kazuha could feel the same sadness in them that had been in that small smile. It confused Kazuha, why the woman should be so sad. Did she suspect Kazuha's feelings, and didn't return them?

Ignoring the looks of the surprised people around her, she turned to the table where Ran was currently sitting. The long walk stretched on before her, yet before she knew it she was sliding into the chair and resting her head dejectedly against her friend's shoulder.

"It's hopeless."

...

Heiji returned to the table in a state of shock. Even his feet were numb to the pounding pain of his heels. When he reached his chair, he all but fell in it, uncaring that he was supposed to be acting like a lady.

"I don't believe it," he said slowly, the words feeling as though they came from someone else's mouth.

"Told you," Kudo said, voice smug with victory.

"Kazuha has a crush on Hinamori. And you knew." There was no blame in his voice toward his small friend, just the sensation of shock, confusion, and for some inexplicable reason, loss.

Kudo's head banged heavily against the table. "You really are hopeless."

Heiji lowered his own head into his arms. "I wish she _had_ known it was me. Her murdering me would be better than this."

"Quit worrying, it's fine," Kudo grumbled as he rubbed his forehead.

"Quit worrying?"

"Yes. It's fine. Did you notice it? While you were dancing with Kazuha-chan?" How his friend could worry so little over his current state of mind – whatever it was – was beyond Heiji.

"Yeah, I noticed it. Kazuha has a crush on Hinamori." He glowered at Kudo then, wanting nothing more than to reach across the chair that separated them and strangle the make-up clean off the boy's face. "And you _knew._ Why didn't you tell me?"

"Hey, hey, lower your voice! I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about over where Kazuha came from!"

Heiji glanced over at the table where Kazuha was, sitting beside Nee-chan, the two deep in conversation. Every once in awhile, Nee-chan would look over at him, a questioning look in her eye. Pretty soon it was replaced by a knowing grin. The despondent feeling came flooding back, more oppressing than ever. "Even Nee-chan knew. Everyone knew but me."

"_Idiot!_ Stop moping and think! She came from the bar!" Kudo came over and grabbed Heiji's jaw with his small hand, forcing him to look in another direction.

"That strange guy is either undressing me with his eyes, or even he knew."

"You're sick, Hattori." Kudo practically leapt back in his chair, away from his Kazuha-shunned friend. Heiji really couldn't blame him. Kazuha had a crush on Hinamori, and everyone knew but him. "I swear, if you keep thinking about that, I'm going to call Kazuha right now, as Shinichi, and tell her that you're all mopey right now, and I don't care if it blows my cover. You're starting to get on my nerves."

"What? No!" If Kazuha found out that her crush had been replaced by Heiji, it would break her heart! He felt like an interloper now, intruding on something he had no right being a part of. He would put his weird and unexplainable feelings aside for now. For Kazuha. For the case.

Oh right, the case.

"Okay, I'm better. So that guy, what about him?"

"You mean you didn't notice?" Kudo asked, not sounding nearly as surprised as he should.

"No, I was paying attention to… well, I was dancing." In truth, he'd been too busy trying to stop Kazuha's trembling and so focused on that one dance that he hadn't paid any attention to anything else.

"He was staring at you two the entire time, glaring." Kudo reached over and took a sip from his juice. Somehow, even though he had to hold the comparatively large cup in both hands, the move was as smooth as an adult's. "He was very talkative, even friendly, when she was over there. When she walked away, he kept smiling. Then, when he realized where she was heading, his face turned dark."

Before Kudo could finish, Heiji was up and rushed as fast as he could in those darn heels over to where Kyoko was sitting.

"Hina-chan, what's wrong?"

He leaned forward, whispering in her ear, more for information than playing a role. "What do you know about the bartender?"

"Robert-san?" Kyoko's eyebrows furrowed as she told Heiji what she knew. At the end, Heiji looked frantically around for Kazuha. She wasn't with Nee-chan, and she wasn't at the bar. Neither was Robert.

Without thinking, he went to where Nee-chan was sitting. Before he could say anything, she smiled at him. "Kazuha-chan's confused right now. She hasn't seen Hinamori-san since she went to Kyoto when she was young."

He opened his mouth to speak, but Nee-chan kept talking.

"She didn't feel this way then, so she doesn't know why she is now. All she knows is that it's a very familiar feeling, being both in great danger and completely safe, and she's only felt that a few times."

He wanted her to stop talking. This was not something he wanted to hear. Kazuha was missing, and Kazuha had strange feelings for someone. He wanted to flee, scream, and fight.

"She's only felt that way with you, Hattori-kun."

Here, Heiji faltered. "You knew?" She nodded. "For how long?"

"Something felt off with you from the beginning, but I didn't know until Kazuha-chan told me what I just told you."

"K-Kazuha! Does she know?" Heiji mentally kicked his own ass, forcing himself to focus on why he came here. "More importantly, where is she?"

"No, she left before I could. She went to the lady's room." Nee-chan suddenly stared over at the table where Kudo was sitting. "Don't tell me that's Conan-kun! He told me his parents were in town!"

Heiji shrugged, already backing toward the door. "What can I say? They needed a flower girl." Spinning, he teetered for a second before becoming increasingly frustrated. Taking his aggressions out on the easiest annoyance in his life at the moment, he lifted the hem of his skirt and kicked the offending footwear off with relish before continuing to run unfettered.

Weaving through the crowd, he moved as fast as he could, wishing that these people would just get out of the way, already. Through the ballroom door, down the hall, and even so far away from the main event, there were people every where. Annoying as it was, it also meant that Robert would have little opportunity to attack Kazuha. Unless he got desperate, and Heiji was not willing to rule that out.

Without thinking, he barged into the lady's room, desperately scanning the surprised faces of the women at the mirror. One stepped out of a stall, and Heiji realized two things. Kazuha wasn't here, and he was _in the lady's room._ While they didn't know he was a guy, it was still embarrassing. Spinning on the balls of his feet, he rushed back out.

Where were they?

**-End Part Three**

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**Muaha! Again, I apologize for the shortness of this... And also, I don't know why it took me this long to realize that the file uploader removed my scene change break thingies... ewps... For now, we must deal with many dots!**  
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